Updated September 14, 2020. In my last post we looked at plot. Today we’ll look at working with scenes. What goes into a scene? All the same things that go into plot. Think of a scene like a mini plot. The character(s) has a goal, which represents a small step in achieving the story goal….
Updated August 2020 Many fiction writers struggle with what plot is and how to develop it, including me. We envision the end product and wonder how we’re going to get there. Some writers develop their plot through first writing outlines (called plotters); some write by the seat of their pants (called pantsers). But much like…
Without unforgettable characters in a story, do you lose interest? I do. But how do you create these characters? Today begins a series on that topic. Let’s get real, whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, we want to connect with story characters. We want to discover something about them that we share–their life goals,…
All great fiction writing has more than 4 important elements; however, in my opinion, there are 4 that are the driving force behind your story. Any avid reader can quickly identify when a book is going to be great or not. They may not be able to tell you the elements that are or aren’t…
This month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story. Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story. However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story.
As discussed in “6 Steps to Story Development,” a story needs conflict. In fact, without it you have no story. So let’s take a closer look and see how you can make sure you’re developing the conflict in your story. James Scott Bell, in his book Conflict & Suspense, defines conflict this way: “a clash between…
What was the big bad wolf’s goal in the story of the 3 little pigs? To have dinner. He needed to eat and the 3 pigs met the bill. The wolf was doing what came naturally to him. There was nothing evil about eating the pigs, but of course to the pigs, who stood to…
Should I write my novel in first person or third (or get totally wild and use second person)? Am I limited to a single character, or can I use multiple point of view (POV) characters? Who should my novel’s POV character be? You want to write a story readers can’t put down, but how do…